Sunday, February 2, 2014

Sunday Update (1)

Every other Sunday I'll be posting a general news post. These might preview things I'm planning for the two weeks following (such as a new feature - On My Mind), they might reflect on books I'm looking forward to, or that I've recently heard of and want to discuss.  

I'm hooking into: 


This is a meme hosted by the Caffeinated Book Reviewer wherein everyone gets to share their news for the week. It's a great opportunity to see what's happening out there in the blogosphere, so go check out some other Sunday Posters!

Today's post is going to have a few sections:

1. Some news about the Morganville web series

2. Site stats from the month of January

3. A quick rundown of my current posting schedule, for the curious.

4. An update on my progress for the two year-long challenges that I've joined.


1. Morganville Web Series


I'm a backer of the Kickstarter to fund the Morganville (by Rachel Caine) web series. This fifteen book YA series was one of my early entries into the YA category. I picked it up because the first book, Glass Houses, really caught my eye. I enjoyed Claire's perspective - as a smart teenager, in the first book she seemed genuinely naive, though trying hard to fit in. I liked that there was this extra layer of danger and difficulty (in Morganville's vampires) over top of the trouble Claire was having at school.  

Plus Michael and Shane both seemed pretty swoon-worthy.

Now, I read the first four books when they were released, and then somehow I lost track of the series for a few years. I've picked it back up again and am mid-way now, but when I saw the Kickstarter, I knew I had to get in on it. I enjoyed that first book in the series so much, it was a no-brainer to want to see it adapted to a web series format.

This all leads up to the important piece of news: this week it was announced that they're having open auditions to fill the roles of Claire and Eve!  If you're a huge fan of the series, an aspiring actress, and can pass as a high school or young college student, this is a golden opportunity!  

All the information can be found here: Morganville Kickstarter

Good luck!


2. Site Stats for January


In January, I reviewed 27 books for the site. 

My average review score was 3.9, which seems decent to me. I'd hate to be wasting my time with a stack of terrible books!

I refuse to pick favourites because I read so many really good books this month. I rated six books 5s and three 4.5s.  Links to the five star book reviews:

A Study in Ashes by Emma Jane Holloway
Hatshepsut's Collar by A.W. Exley
The Countess Conspiracy by Courtney Milan
Wanted by J Kenner
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
Deeper by Robin York

In terms of site visitors, Google Analytics tells me that the blog had 292 visits from 159 different visitors and roughly 1000 pageviews. I'm happy with how steadily my blog traffic has been growing! 

Remember that you follow the blog via email using the sign-up in the sidebar or you can follow via BlogLuvin:  Follow on Bloglovin

Or follow the blog twitter account for updates: TETOReviews on Twitter


3. Current Schedule


My current schedule is bi-weekly, and subject to change but for the moment:

Week One:
Sunday - Sunday Update
Monday - Book review (usually erotica)
Tuesday - Top Ten Tuesday
Wednesday - Book review (usually YA, NA, fantasy)
Friday - Book review (usually romance)
Saturday - Stacking the Shelves

Week Two:
Monday - Book review (usually erotica)
Tuesday - In the Works (current read-along Daughter of Smoke & Bone)
Wednesday - Book review (usually YA, NA, fantasy)
Thursday - On My Mind... (an opinion piece on something book-related)
Friday - Book review (usually romance)Wednesday - Book review 


Clever readers will realize that I'm reviewing far more books than I'm officially scheduling myself for - this is because I love, love, love books and have poor self-control when it comes to requesting review copies for books that appeal to me. I will continue to post 'bonus' reviews while I continue to request/receive bonus books.

Also, I'm hoping to get in a few 'chattier' style posts so that there's more opportunity for interaction with other readers!


4. The Year-Long Challenges!


Up first, the 2014 Monthly Key Word Challenge. 
Hosted by Bookmark to Blog
January's words were "Angel, Secret, Clock, Black, Day, Wild." For this, I read Secrets for Seducing a Royal Bodyguard by Vanessa Kelly, which I gave 4 stars!  

February's words are "
Her, Life, Night, Red, Dark, Island." 


Second, The 2014 Rewind Challenge!
This is hosted by Coffee Bean Bookshelf.
I read...
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion
and The Chaos of Stars by Kiersten White (which I did not review for the blog)  in paperback format and then The Bone Season by Samantha Shannon (also not reviewed for the blog) in ebook format.   

So I'm a 2/40 and 1/40 for my efforts.

It's worth noting, I suppose, for transparency, that I've added far more books to the stacks than I have cleared from them. A big part of that is simply the number of books I've been reading for review purposes. There's only so many reading hours in the day!

And on that note, I think this update is plenty long enough! 

Have a bit of news to share? What was your favourite read of January 2014? Drop me some links to updates on your progress for 2014 year long challenges so I can cheer you on!

1 comment:

  1. I enjoyed The Rosie Project, too, and it also earned 5 stars from me. Have a great week, and here's MY WEEKLY SUNDAY/MONDAY UPDATES

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